Absence Makes The Heart Grow Strong
by Sophie Benson
Summary: A story in which Elliot and Olivia uncover an unusual serial killer.  Lots of adventure and fun E/O moments.
1. Chapter 1

"Coffee?"

"Do I ever say no?"

Detective Olivia Benson smiled as she handed her partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, the small tray-for-two of coffees, and slid into the car.

"You look like you slept on the floor," she commented lightly as Elliot started the engine.

He gripped the steering wheel and looked straight ahead. "Yeah, Eli was feverish." It was easy to blame his lack of sleep on his two year old son, when in all reality he and Kathy had been having problems again.

He hadn't gotten home until nearly midnight after working a case in which a fourteen year old girl had been raped. They'd finally gotten it out of the dickwad who'd done it, but he'd held his tongue for a good four hours.

Kathy was outraged, and had lectured him on how 'a good father doesn't miss dinner with his children every single night!' for awhile before she'd gone to bed, without inviting him.

He'd been left with a pillow and a faded Power Rangers beach towel. The couch was currently inhabited by their oldest daughter, Maureen, who was home from college for a visit, so he headed to little Eli's room, where he'd settled down on the hardwood floor.

So yes, he had slept on the floor, but he hadn't thought anyone would notice. Olivia knew him too well.

A cryptic silence hung in the air for a few minutes before he sighed and asked, "Is it that bad?"

"Not bad at all," she assured him.

"Okay, so your hair is kind of sticking up everywhere, and the circles under your eyes are sort of big," she admitted sheepishly a moment later.

He snorted "You know, you could always lie once in awhile just to spare my feelings. I wouldn't mind."

Olivia raised an eyebrow and smiled ruefully. "I couldn't let you embarrass yourself in front of Cragen, Munch, and Fin! Oh, you also have a little something right-"

She licked her thumb and brushed it against his chin. "There. Got it."

Elliot felt a shiver up his spine at her touch. He held his breath until she withdrew her hand, and forcing himself to breath normally, he smiled sunnily over at her.

"Thanks."

"Mhmm." When he snuck a glance at her, she was gazing out the window, seemingly deep in thought. He was relieved not to have to start a conversation, and kept his eyes on the road until they reached NYPD headquarters**.**

Cragen met them at the door. "You two are late," he scolded.

Elliot lifted his hand. "My fault, captain."

Cragen eyed him suspiciously, but dropped it. "A ten year old girl is missing," he said solemnly.

Elliot took a breath and crossed his arms. "Why is that our territory?" His heart was already aching for the parents. This job was so painful sometimes.

The look in Cragen's eyes was blacker than doom, and his voice radiated seriousness. "CSU is comfortable saying she's been taken by the Brothers of Flame.

Elliot heard Olivia gasp. The Brothers of Flame were a group of sociopathic killer Satanists whose trademark was burning people alive as a part of twisted sacrifice. They were also known for performing strange sexual acts on their victims, a part of the torture they induced before the killing.

So far, they'd gotten two people, or as Elliot liked to say, two too many. A sixteen year old boy and a woman in her late twenties. That had been in Maryland,but there had been sightings reported of figures in the Central Park late at night dancing around bonfires, as well as three arson reports, including a burned nursery school. Luckily no one had had been killed in those incidents, but it was only a matter of time. It confirmed the entire squad's fears; the insane pyromaniacs had arrived in New York.

Elliot, face tight, spoke again. "What did they find?" He couldn't keep the dread out of his voice; he knew he didn't want to hear the answer.

"No body parts, thank god," Cragen answered. "Just a devil's star with a flame sketching inside and…"

He held up a plastic evidence bag. Elliot squinted, but couldn't identify of the flaky gray strips in the bag. "What is it?"

Cragen's face was impossibly grim. "Strands of burned hair."

**[Please R&R below. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated; this is my first SVU FanFic, hope you all liked it :) I'll be posting the next chapter soon, probably within the next few days. Thanks! Also- you'll get an explanation for the title later in the story.]**


	2. Chapter 2

Olivia braced herself for what waited beyond the pristine oak door. She and Elliot were in one of the nicer parts of New York**. **The windows of the airy penthouse were perfectly clear, not a smudge or scratch was visible against the crystal glass. Cream curtains hung from either side, and a pale yellow rug lay at her feet, just in front of the door. She could already tell; these were the type of people everyone else was jealous of. The type of people that had everything.

Well, except their daughter.

Olivia reached up and rapped the brass knockersharply, twice against the door. She checked her watch, nine A.M., before exchanging a meaningful look with Elliot. His face was composed in blankness, something she had never been able to manage when speaking to a victim's loved ones.

A moment later, a pretty brunette woman in her late thirties answered, worry and terror etched clearly on her carefully made-up face.

"Oh, thank god, the police? I'm Sasha Burnette, Ella's mother." She ushered Olivia and Elliot indoors, clasping each of their hands before motioning to a sitting area. "Please, please, sit down, is there any news?"

Olivia took a breath and sat down on a cream lounge chair."No, I'm sorry, there isn't," she said gently, folding her hands and placing them in her lap. Cragen had ordered them not to tell the parents about the strands of burned hair that had been found; 'It's not as if they could identify them anyway, no need to cause them more worry', he'd said.

Mrs. Burnette's eyes filled with tears, and slumped forwards, her face in her hands. "Oh, oh, it's just been _terrible_," she wept.

Elliot stepped forward from where he'd been standing a few feet away, and placed a hand on Mrs. Burnette's trembling shoulder. "We're doing everything we can to find Ella," he said sincerely, blueeyes full of sympathy and kindness. "It's the top case in our unit."

Olivia swallowed. Even after years of experience, her job never got any easier "Mrs. Burnette, we need to know when exactly Ella disappeared. Can you tell us when you noticed she was gone?"

Mrs. Burnette raised her tear-streaked face, and nodded. "Y-yes," she replied with a hiccup. "My husband, Eric, takes her to school everyday at seven. School doesn't start until eight, but they have a before-school program, the woman who runs it, Mrs. Mitchell is very reliable and Ella just adores her. Anyway, this morning, at around seven-thirty Mrs. Mitchell called me to ask if Ella was coming this morning. I was shocked, and called Eric, who said he'd dropped her off in front of the building at seven, like usual."

"He didn't wait to make sure she got inside?" Olivia interrupted, astonishment lacing her tone.

Mrs. Burnette shrugged half-heartedly. "He was in a hurry," she murmured apologetically.

Olivia leaned forward, ready to argue the matter, but stopped at a glance from Elliot.

"And you didn't hear anything else until you called 911 and they determined the crime scene, is that right?"

"Yes. Is-is it t-true she's been taken by those, whats-their-names, Brothers of Flame?" Mrs. Burnette choked out.

Olivia closed her eyes ever so briefly before replying. "It's possible, but we have a few ideas on exactly what happened.

Mrs. Burnette nodded, obviously struggling to keep herself together.

Olivia gave her a sympathetic nod before gesturing to Elliot. They both got to their feet, and Olivia spoke to the woman. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Burnette. We'll call you right away if we get any news."

Sasha Burnette walked them to the door, but right as they turned to leave, she grabbed Olivia's arm.

"Please," she whispered hoarsely. "Please, find my baby."

Olivia patted the distraught woman's hand. "We'll do everything we can," she promised. Her heart was searing, full of pain and worry for the little girl, and the horrors she must be facing.

As they were walking back to the car, Elliot slammed his palm down on the hood. "I hate this," he said angrily. "How can people do this, Liv? These sick, perverted, monsters…"

She did something spontaneous then; something they usually reserved for right after one of them saved the other's life. She hugged Elliot.

Wrapping her arms around him, she felt his surprise, and then his arms slowly enclosed her.

"We'll find her, El," she murmured, her voice somewhat muffled by his coat.

He said nothing, and she wished desperately she could do something more to ease his pain. Elliot suffered so much, more than she did, on each and ever case. And it didn't help that he and Kathy were having problems again. He avoided the subject, and she was polite enough not to ask, but she could see it in the dark circles beneath his eyes, in his manner, the way he talked.

They let go, and she watched as Elliot slid into the driver's seat. His face was still tight, but he didn't clench the steering wheel quite as hard as he had before. "So, where to next?"

"Door-to-door around the school and crime scene?" she suggested awkwardly. She didn't understand how he could just slip back into normality after their hug; sure, they were partners, but the embrace had seemed more intimate, somehow.

"Sounds good." With that, Elliot started the engine, and they were off.

**[A big thank you to those of you who have already reviewed; it means a lot. This chapter was a little longer and grimmer than the last one, but I hope you enjoyed it anyhow. The mood will lighten up again soon. Just a note- I for the life of me could not figure out what color Chris Meloni's eyes are; some websites said blue, some brown, some green, and in different pictures with different lighting it was so it was extremely hard to tell. Blue seemed fitting, forgive me if I'm wrong. I hope to have the next chapter up by Friday, so keep checking back!]**


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